Magnetic field-stellar winds interaction

As per the recent study by the MiMeS collaboration, only about 10% of massive stars possess organized global magnetic fields, typically dipolar in nature. The competition between such magnetic fields and highly non-linear radiative forces that drive the stellar winds leads to a highly complex interaction. Such an interplay can lead to a number of observable phenomena, e.g. X-ray, wind confinement, rapid stellar spindown. However, due to its complexity, such an interaction cannot usually be modeled analytically, instead numerical modeling becomes a necessary tool. In this talk, I will discuss how numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations are employed to understand the nature of such magnetized massive star winds.